Fifteen years, 1 month and six days ago, I started this site. Readers have come and gone. Mostly gone. I'd like to thank
my small but faithful audience, you know who you are. Here's the summary on the past 15 years.

'KRENG', a short film I helped make, is going to CANNES FILM FESTIVAL. Yes, that's actually happening. The six minute effort
will participate (out of competition) in the 'Short Film Corner' during the 69th edition of the legendary film festival in France.
A big thumbs up to director Xavier Arijs and screenwriter Peter De Voecht. They did it, they came through, they delivered the
goods and now, 'KRENG' will rock the crowd in Cannes, France. Nous sommes très heureux.

Music of 2013-2014-2015

1 April 2016

Music from 2013 | 2014 | 2015. Oh, the procrastination on these write-ups.

On 24 October 2015, I was granted the enormous honour of having a short chat with Mr. Alan Silvestri,
one of the greatest living composers and the man who scored my favourite movie of all time. [full article] - [audio file]

David Jones

19 January 2016

Mr. David Bowie has passed away. What a major loss. On 8 January 2016, he celebrated his 69th birthday with the release of a new album
called 'Blackstar'. That same day, my favourite record store FatKat opened the doors of its new, expanded location in Antwerp. I bought
'Blackstar', went home and listened to the album between 9 and 10 PM. I think it was a first to be able to listen to an artist's new album on
his birthday. Quite a unique experience, one I thoroughly enjoyed. 'Blackstar' turned out to be a masterpiece, no mean feat after decades
in the industry. Just two days later, Mr. Bowie succumbed to the horrible c-disease (I won't dignify its existence by naming it). The next day
(that's a Bowie reference, coincidentally), the devastating news reached our ears. Extremely weird: buying and enjoying a fine new album
on Friday, and hearing about the loss of its maker on Monday. Thanks for everything, Mr. Bowie. You will be missed.

Back to the Future

26 October 2015

Today marks the exact 30th anniversary of Marty McFly's first time travel. On 26 October 1985, he tried to outrun the Lybians,
accelerated to 88mph and travelled to 5 November 1955. The new Blu-ray collection should arrive shortly. I have only seen
a few episodes of the animated series, so the complete inclusion of said series is bound to be a treat. Also available for sale
(but not on my purchase radar in the near future) is a re-release of the excellent Telltale game - now with added Thomas F. Wilson
voice-over work. And lest I forget: a plutonium-powered Monopoly edition has been released last month. It's a good time to be a
Back to the Future fan.

Back to the Future Part II

21 October 2015

Today earns its place in pop culture history as the date of Marty McFly's arrival in the future. Or, as of now, the present. On 26 October 1985,
after an eventful week in November 1955, Marty travelled to 21 October 2015 to save his kids' future. To commemorate this joyous occasion -
after all, Back to the Future is my favourite movie of all time - I'd like to drink a Pepsi Perfect (problem: Pepsi only released 6500 bottles for
the American market) and I'd love to wear futuristic Nikes (problem: the fashionable shoes were produced in limited quantities and fetched
high prices - luckily, the money went towards the Michael J. Fox Foundation), but I will see the entire trilogy for the very first time on the silver
screen later today. The three movies will be screened as part of the Ghent Film Festival. This is heavy! Great Scott!

Shine

19 September 2015

Even though I'd love to deny it, I have become an old fart entertainment-wise. Back in 1998, I followed the pop charts religiously. I knew the hits,
the misses, the shits, and the disses. In 2000, I discovered a new-found appreciation for vinyl and started collecting records. I haven't looked back
since, and thus my pop chart knowledge slowly withered and died. My street credibility has never been all that, and I've never been down with the
kids. That's okay. Every cloud has a silver lining, and being a wallflower-esque geeky nerd has its charms too. New music is thus only discovered
by chance. Just two weeks ago, the band Years & Years passed the video waves of YouTube, and I immediately took a shine to their song Shine.
Such class, such excellence, such genius. I bought the 7" vinyl single today, for the wallet-crippling price of $11. Eleven bucks for two songs!? My
parents bought their 45's for an average price of $1.63 in the sixties and seventies. I know, inflation. But still: $11!? The song is worth it, though.

Electric Dreams

8 August 2015

Isn't it funny how one can come across gaping cultural black holes, and immediately benefit from them? Just this morning, I stumbled upon
the Phil Oakey/Giorgio Moroder collaboration Together in Electric Dreams from the movie Electric Dreams, after someone mentioned the song
in an online LaserDisc discussion. I had never ever heard of it until I read the post. I subsequently found the song on YouTube, listened to it,
immediately liked it, bought the iTunes file for $1.29 and have been listening to it non-stop since. 'So good', as Harry Osborn would say.

Dino Barbie II

7 August 2015

Mattel replied to the Dino Barbie concept with corporate politeness. That's understandable. Read their rejection mail here.
I will, however, pursue that crowd sourcing community idea.

Dino Barbie

4 August 2015

Between 1988-1990, Tyco made the Dino Riders line - probably the greatest pitch in toy history. Guys riding dinosaurs! Shut up and take my money!
Unfortunately, I was too young to buy the products at the time, and the power of nostalgia and the audacity of scalpers haven't been kind to the franchise.
Nowadays, be prepared to spend upwards of $500 for a boxed Tyrannosaurus. Just a few weeks ago, I was talking to Andrea Hulsbosch (a Belgian linguist
and fashion model), and we both mentioned our love for dinosaurs. She went one step beyond, and talked about how her Barbies used to ride her dinosaurs.
At that moment, I had a revelation, an epiphany, a vision. Andrea's childhood concept reminded me of Tyco's. And in a 'what are the odds?'-spin of events,
the Tyco brand is now owned by Mattel. Dino Barbie (or Dino Barbies, if you will, but I doubt there's more than one Barbie in that fictional universe) needs
to be made. E-mail Mattel. Call them. Spread the word. Here's a first sketch.

On 26 September 1993, my grandparents allowed me to spend 2000 Belgian francs (a mere $50) on a toy of my choosing as a birthday present.
Back then, Belgian toy chain FUN was open for only a few hours on a Sunday. September 1993 marked the height of Jurassic Park mania.
The movie was just around the corner, I had seen the ads, I had read the reports in the Suske and Wiske weekly, I was a dinosaur fan since the big
1992 exhibition had opened in the Natural History Museum of Brussels ... needless to say, I was psyched. Naturally, I opted for Jurassic Parkmerchandise. The GameBoy game retailed for 1800 francs ($45) - on a par with Nintendo 3DS games of now. Inflation-wise, games could be more
expensive today. (Alan) Granted, this was before the internet and before I had ever heard of a thing called "reviews". I picked the game because
the cover art said Jurassic Park! I honestly liked the game, but it was way too hard for an inexperienced gamer. I don't think I ever made it past the
third level. Not understanding any of the English dialogue didn't help matters either. Flash forward to 2 March 2015. Having just seen Jurassic Parkagain (anticipating the fourth installment, Jurassic World), I decided to give the GameBoy game another shot. Lo and behold, it proved to be not that
hard after all. Only the fifth level forced me to face two 'Continue? Yes/No' screens. Two hours after inserting the cartridge, I completed the game.
21,5 years after receiving the game, I finally beat it. A footnote in life? An unimportant event? Sure. But also a strangely fascinating and satisfying one.

I know next to nothing about The Beatles. The hits, yes. At least 20 solid tracks of major musical excellence. Album tracks, rarities or
B-sides, however? A big gaping hole. Last month, I purchased the wallet-crippling, mortgage-equalling expensive 'The Beatles in Mono'vinyl box set. At long last, I will get to know each and every track. Musical genius Matthias Meersmans - of Grovgast fame - is a Beatles
expert. In a series of chats, we will delve deeper into the Fab Four's output. The connoisseur versus the amateur. The pro versus the prütser.
Stay tuned!

Han shot first

19 October 2014

On 17 October 2014, I finally saw Star Wars (or Episode IV, or A New Hope) the way audiences saw it way back in 1977, thanks to a
surprisingly high-quality VHS tape from 1995. For the purists: I know this cut has minor changes too (the A New Hope subtitle, for one,
wasn't present when the movie premiered). Still, until now, the 1997/2004/2011 cuts had to suffice. Guess Han really shot first, huh?

Magnetude

12 October 2014

On 20 September, a-ha fans had the opportunity to ask former member Magne Furuholmen a personal question through a Q&A session
on his Facebook page. Yours truly chimed in, Mr. Furuholmen replied. Not the answer I was hoping for, but kudos for his hilarious response.

Fabulous Land

24 August 2014

In 1989, impressionable yours truly brought a set of his favourite LEGO line Fabuland to kindergarten for show and tell.
It would prove to be a horrible decision, because one of the minifigures - Lionel Lion, the mayor of Fabuland Town - would
be stolen by some dastardly burglar. For 25 long years, my 3622 set remained sadly incomplete. Until January 2014, that is.
Lionel is currently happily available on eBay. Sometimes steep, sometimes acceptable, but always too expensive for what it is.
But, at last, Lionel is back where he belongs in my collection. Hurrah!

On May 2 (and announced one week later on May 9), Jozef "Pom" Van Hove - the greatest Belgian comic book artist of all time
(in a tie with André Franquin) - passed away at the ripe old age of 94. This is a major loss for the cultural patrimony of Belgium.
A few years ago, I wrote a hero text about the extremely talented man, who had a well-known dislike of journalists and the media
in general. As coincidence would have it, Peter De Voecht and I recently attempted to pay him a visit armed with a few questions,
a bottle of beer and some chocolates. Although we found his homestead, he never opened the door. A neighbour informed us of his
nighttime activity, so he could very well have been asleep when we rang the door during the day. According to his family, he spent
the last month of his life in a retirement home. That would mean, from April to May 2014. We were there at the end of February.
Too bad we didn't get to see him in person, but at least we tried. We sure would have regretted not trying it. Hats off to you, Pom.

Bobituary

5 May 2014

On 29 April, Bob Hoskins passed away. One of the best character actors of all time, and the creator of Hook's Smee -
probably the funniest supporting character in any motion picture. With Good mooooornin' Neverland!, Peter flogging flying Pan!,
Now, let's give him a very big hand (...) 'cause he's only got one, I've just had an apostrophe (amongst others), he stands
as one of the most quotable too. I have yet to see his acclaimed turn in Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, but enjoyed the fine
thespian in other works like Michael and the mediocre Snow White and the Huntsman (in which he clearly was the best thing).
Mister Hoskins suffered from Parkinson's Disease, but succumbed to pneumonia at the (far too young) age of 71.
Shame I never had a chance to interview him. Take care, Mister Hoskins, and thanks for all the wonderful cinematic moments.

Clouseau

7 February 2014

Interview with the passionate Belgian musicians, about their musical history spanning from 1987-today.
In Dutch, unfortunately, with no English version available. I may eventually subtitle the clip.

Updating the heroes

3 January 2014

Michael Schack, still the best Belgian drummer, sent me a kind tweet regarding this text - after I tweeted him about his awesomeness.
I normally don't alter old texts, but factual mistakes beg to be changed.

@julianbelgium wow, had no idea that such a tribute text existed. A few mistakes: Lenny still around, shack should be schack, bass note...:)

Breaking into the fashion industry has always been one of my dreams, on a par with "owning a DeLorean",
"curing all diseases; stopping world hunger" and "thinking fourth dimensionally". In short: quite impossible.
That hasn't stopped yours truly from producing t-shirts, hats and whatnots with own designs. My generous
friends sometimes ask me to provide them with a piece of clothing. I'm always flattered and honoured.
Don't hesitate to contact me whenever you're in need of some vestimentary attributes. Glad to oblige.

Interview with the relatively new English band Peace, in English or Dutch.

That one song

12 March 2013

Hope of Deliverance. On 7". Since yesterday. After 21 years of searching. Finally. Thanks, Mr. McCartney.

Films of 2011

18 January 2013

The best of cinema in 2011. You could say I'm a little behind with my retrospectives.

Thoughts on the death of Tony Cabana

24 December 2012

Dutch entertainer and entrepreneur Tony Cabana decided to take his own life the day before yesterday.
He had been living in Belgium since the eighties and had opened at least two successful clubs and restaurants.
His true calling, however, was singing 'schlagers' (schmalzy pop/torch songs) that dealt with the issues of the
everyday layman. Karel Crombecq and I first discovered the man in 1997, when we saw a few of his singles
in a long-gone record store in Bruges. Cabana never took the time (or found the necessary backing) to record
an album, but he did bless the world with a lot of 2-track discs. Karel and I were intrigued by this mysterious
fellow with curly hair and a penchant for strange song titles. Back then, there were no iPhones and only Karel
had 56Kbps internet access at home, so naturally we forgot about the man. We even neglected to write down his
name and were convinced he was called "Frank Bacana". The next summer, we stumbled upon a copy of his
Dansen In Het Weekend and decided to buy it. The following decade, the man sporadically made the news with
info on his Kontich club "Copacabana", his exclusion from the Eurovision preliminaries or a devastating fire that
wrecked one of his brasseries. In 2009, we even saw him live, in concert, during the annual fair in Edegem.
There wasn't a huge turn-out, but Cabana gave his all. We thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it, even though the
music was not our cup of tea. Although we can't claim that he's our favourite artist of all time, we had a soft spot
for this ever charming and enthusiastic self-made Dutchman. I would have loved to interview him. May his singles
be collected on an album sooner or later. Rest in peace, Mr. Cabana.

Evo Dash, or the new standard in independent games

2 December 2012

Regular readers know of the legendary, larger-than-life character that is Karel Crombecq. A personal friend of mine
since the wee age of 6, we shared many a laugh and an adventure over the course of 22 years. At just 3 years old,
he made the decision to become a video game developer and he has stood by that conviction ever since. Kudos to
his determination. On 22 November 2012, he finally unveiled his first commercially available game : Evo Dash.
Available as we speak on all major Apple and Android platforms! I'm very proud, even if I had nothing to do with it.
Support him when and if you have a mere 89 cents to spare. And remember that name. Evo Dash. And Karel Crombecq.

Julian's Posts turns 10

25 August 2012

Ten years and three days ago, I started this site. Readers have come and gone (mostly gone). I'd like to thank
my small but faithful audience; you know who you are. Read the summary on the past decade!

Celebituaries

17 August 2012

-Lupe Ontiveros, Rosalita from The Goonies, passed away on July 26. I am currently not able to converse in
Spanish, but she taught me my first words in the language of Cervantes. Much appreciated.
-Geoffrey Hughes, Onslow from Keeping Up Appearances, kicked the bucket on July 27. Unfortunately typecast
by just about everyone, he had a rich history on stage with far more complex characters. Thanks for all the laughs,
though. May your catchphrases echo in eternity.

Interview with the excellent and very friendly American blues guitarist.

Polar Oid

4 June 2012

Last Friday - 1 June 2012 - Belgian band dEUS surprised the music industry by releasing a new album without
prior announcement. They subsequently crashed a few record stores on Saturday to promote and sign said
new release entitled Following Sea. Just ten minutes earlier, I had bought my very first Polaroid cartridge
(a wallet-munching purchase at €19 for 8 photos). Naturally, I had to snap the band during their publicity blitz.

Legend. Icon. Activist. Pacifist. Cool old lady. Say what you will about Jane Goodall (who visited the Flemish part of
the Brussels Free Universities yesterday), but make sure it's positive. Never before has a surname held so much truth:
she's truly good to all.

Thanks to the live broadcast on http://www.nrk.no, I was able to see the full Norwegian memorial service in the
Oslo Spektrum arena. It was a sober, fitting tribute to the fallen victims. Most artists were completely unknown to
non-Norwegians and sang in their native tongue, but that didn't matter because grief is a universal language.
I did recognize soprano Sissel Kyrkjebø, however, who scored a hit in 1997 when she collaborated with Warren G.
a-ha opted for a toned-down rendition of their 1988 song Stay On These Roads, a very fitting choice. The band was
beautifully accompagnied by the Kringkastingsorkestret (the broadcaster's orchestra), which made me long for a full
symphonic a-ha concert. I was particularly fond of the band Sambandet, who played a laidback, guitar-driven song.
I reckon they're Norway's equivalent to a band like Dire Straits.
The most touching part of the ceremony was the naming of all the victims, photo and name included. All those young lives,
gone in the blink of an eye. Horrible, just horrible. Norway can be proud of the entire, two-hour tribute.

a-ha and Norway

12 August 2011

What happened in Norway on 22 July 2011 affects us all. The horrible, senseless, pointless killing of youngsters alike is
a vile act that should never ever be repeated. When I heard the news, I felt especially bad for Norway. It's a fascinating
country, free of protocol and filled with natural resources, riches, culture & landscapes. They're not even a part of the EU
(European Union), for they don't need it. A peaceful and quiet country that never makes the headlines.
Yesterday, my favourite pop band a-ha, proud Norwegians, announced they would come out of their self-imposed retirement
to participate in a national memorial service in Oslo on 21 August. That's great news, from a fan's point of view. However, I
wish it had never been apt to hold a memorial service. This is not why you want your musical heroes to reunite.
That said, I'm looking forward to hear them again and I'm sure their carefully crafted tunes will soothe the trampled souls of
the Norwegians and, by extent, the baffled rest of the world. I only hope the producer of the service will have the decency to
leave out questionable song choices. The last thing we need to hear is Hunting High And Low, Cosy Prisons or Celice (with its
lyric "it's in the way you hurt me"). Which may be a bigger problem than you would initially say, because a-ha has a lot of
brooding songs with dark subject matter. Even a seemingly touching song as Soft Rains of April turns out to be about a
convincted criminal. My personal picks would be Love is Reason, Minor Earth Major Sky (for the sense of grandness it evokes)
and their farewell song Butterfly Butterfly (The Last Hurrah) because it sounds so cautiously optimistic.
My thoughts are with you, Norway.

Intergalactic Lovers

7 August 2011

Relatively new band Intergalactic Lovers rocked the crowd in Wilrijk, Belgium for a 45-minute set on the Willrock festival.
The lyrics of their song, Delay, feature the lines "the sound of heavy rain",
"I'll let it just drip-drip-drip on me" and "that'swhat the weather gods said last night". Quite ironic, then, that it rained during the
entire show. Afterwards, we were soaked- but we had enjoyed a thoroughly fine performance. Intergalactic Lovers. Remember that name.
Buy their album. Do it now.

Nine years ago, Karel Crombecq (yes, the Karel Crombecq) helped me build the foundations of Julian's Postsby providing the necessary HTML-code and site templates. That was a piece of cake for Karel, for he is quite
the computer-savvy chap. Ever since he was a wee lad of 3, he wanted to become a professional video game
developer. The past 5 years, he worked on his doctorate to achieve said goal. Yesterday, he proudly unleashed
his full 176-page body of work. He even thanked me in his introduction, a nice gesture I never expected.
His achievement is entitled Surrogate Modelling of Computer Experiments with Sequential Experimental Design.
No, I don't have a clue, but I do have a link to the PDF version!
[watch out! heavy file!]

Back to the Future

2 August 2011

Review of the 1985 Robert Zemeckis movie. It's about time, for I had yet to review my favourite movie of all time.

Belgian comic book artist Midam (no, that is not his real name) is the creator of two acclaimed series,
Kid Paddleand Game Over. The latter is a spin-off of the former, in which a medieval chap (called "The Little
Barbarian") unsuccesfully tries to rescue a princess. All the while, he tries to reach the EXIT. Indeed,
Game Over is a comic book that reads like playing a videogame. It's quite brilliant, to be honest.
Midam offers budding writers the chance to send their own scripts, which - if accepted - will be turned into a one
page sheet by the artist. Last week, I sent my effort. Unfortunately, Midam rejected my idea.
Not to worry, for I will try again ... until the artist is satisfied. Or fed up with me. All copyright belongs, of course, to Midam.

Drawing redux

2 July 2011

Dimitri Sakelaropolus (yes, that is his real name) challenged me to remake my first page-length comic
strip from 1992. I intentionally left in all the weird angles, grammar mistakes and strange colours.
Here's a side-by-side comparison.

Today marks the exact 25th anniversary of Marty McFly's first time travel. On 26 October 1985, he tried to outrun the Lybians,
accelerated to 88mph and travelled to 5 November 1955. To commemorate this joyous occasion - after all, Back to the Futureis my favourite movie of all time - I will drink a Pepsi Free (problem : they aren't for sale in Belgium), I'll listen to the Eddie Van
Halen's song (problem : it was never commercially released) and I will try to steal some plutonium from the Lybians (shouldn't
be a problem). I also received the Blu-ray collection of all three films yesterday, in a gorgeous box full of swagger (including
lenticular photo, posters, Gray's Sports Almanac and more). I will however wait to see the restored masterpieces, for I want to
enjoy them with a bunch of equal BttF-loving
friends, comrades and chaps. Great Scott!

Question of the Day

21 October 2010

Can a crooked thief have crooked teeth?

Revelation of the Day

20 October 2010

The word "iris" (as well as the name "Iris") contains the word "eye".
So, "eye" is part of "eye-ris", whereas the "iris" is part of the "eye".
Funny.

Arnold Gelderman

15 October 2010

Interview with the legendary Dutch director of most of the Disney classics!
He also played the Dutch Robin Hood, Kaa, Scar, Lumière and many more.

In an effort to counter the spammers, blog sites (and others) have introduced the word verification method.
The user has to copy a certain word before he or she can enter a comment. These words are plain nonsense
most of the time, but I chuckled while reading this one. Sounds like George Lucas's space opera, doesn't it?

Sofia Coppola

8 October 2010

Can somebody - anybody? - please tell me why so many critics hate Sofia Coppola in The Godfather Part III?
I really think she does a great job. She's not obnoxious as some other teen actresses, she's convincing,
she nails it and she's good.

Funny : the word lawsuit [a case in a court of law which concerns a dispute between two people
or organizations (Collins Cobuild English Dictionary)] contains the word sue. What a coincidence.

Separated at birth?

14 September 2010

I noticed a striking resemblance between English actor Charlie Hunnam and
Belgian politician Jean-Jacques De Gucht. They could be doppelgangers.

What's Your Excuse!?

12 September 2010

Since 1995, comic store Mekanik Strip has organised a yearly competition for young artists
called What's Your Excuse?!. Everything and everyone is accepted, you just have to comply
with the central theme. The theme for 2010 was De Reis [The Journey]. Here's my entry :
De Reis Af [The Slide].
Check it out in Mekanik Strip (St. Jacobsmarkt 73, Antwerp) from 18 September to 18 October!

Serge Baeken

6 September 2010

Interview with Belgian comic book artist Serge Baeken, in English or in Dutch.

The sax part in Elvis Presley's Return To Sender (written by Winfield Scott and Otis Blackwell in 1962)
sounds remarkably similar to the sax part in Fats Domino's I'm In Love Again (written by Antoine 'Fats'
Domino and Dave Bartholomew in 1956). Bring on the lawyers!

75 years of Elvis Presley. He passed away in 1977, but he's still very relevant and never equalled.
Have a drink on me, together with Sinatra and Jackson. My old elementary school principal, the
legendary Jan Coninx, is still alive and kicking. But he also turned 75 today. What a cool thought :
Elvis and Jan, both born on 8 January 1935. The first one changed the history of rock & roll, the
second one changed the lives of many children with his positive guidance.

My first full-length comic H-Man has been up for sale since May 2007, but a digital copy has never been made available.
Until now : I've scanned the first 9 pages and pasted them together in a PDF-file as an 'extended teaser' => click here.
Full copies (48 black & white pages) can be shipped worldwide. Just contact me and I'll look at the cheapest postal options.

This very first Sony MiniDisc portable player from 1992 is currently playing La Roux' Bulletproof from 2009.
Think about it : in 1992, there were no (commercial) cellphones, no internet (for everybody), no downloads,
no hookers ... and La Roux' singer Elly Jackson was a 4 year old red headed girl. But still, this great piece of
hardware can play a song that's 17 years his junior. It's like stepping into a time machine, Doc Brown-style.

Top songs of 2009

3 December 2009

With little more than a month to go before 2009 wraps up : a top-5 of this year's best tracks.

Morten Harket, the lead singer of Norwegian band a-ha, is 50 years old. A respectable age for a musician.
But the man (the combination of looks and voice) spells sex. How do I know? An 18-year old girl put it like
this : "Morten Harket? He may be 50, but he could end up with me". Well done, mr. Harket! You were a sweet
posterboy in the 80's and you still are very wanted. It must be flattering. After all, this girl was -6 when a-hacrashed the scene.

P.S. I missed yet another Belgian a-ha gig last month (cf. the '13 November 2005' post). I just don't have
any friends that like the band. I never asked 'that girl' about her musical taste before, so I had no clue.
Worst of all, a-ha will call it quits again next year. Come back for one more concert on our soil, guys.
You can't split without me having seen you.

Pathetic

26 November 2009

Disney has licensed a Cars-themed Halloween/dressing party costume for kids. Fair enough, they've done that
in the past. But the kid that eventually dresses up in the Cars outfit will become a ... Cars driver. A driver!?Preposterous! The Cars universe doesn't even have humans, so how could it have drivers? These cars steer,
turn, brake (etc) all by themselves. This kind of unrealistic, shameless milking of a succesful franchise makes
me sick! It's a disgrace to the spirit of the movie. Bah. Humbug. Dear Walt is spinning in his grave.
[photographic evidence]

Nemesis by David Gray. I heard the first note and I thought : "This is the best song of 2009". Discover it.

New photos/Improved lay-out/Boss Bashing II

22 November 2009

- For the first time since January 2006, I have uploaded some new photographs.
- Updated lay-out of 'The Posts' : check films, heroes and other to see subtle changes for the better.
- I'm a big admirer of Bruce Springsteen (tip of the day : You're Missing). But some people hate his guts,
which is fine by me. No artist is liked by everyone. I just realised today that his initials spell "B.S.".
Or "bullshit". How funny, for the haters out there.

The Gloved Genius' Best Songs

20 November 2009

Top-15 of Michael Jackson's best songsI prefer to refer to Michael Jackson as "The Gloved Genius". I don't really like the nickname "King Of Pop",
because it implies he only made pop music. What about the funky In The Closet? Besides, Elvis Presley is
"The King". Why do they call Lance Armstrong "The Boss", when we all know who "The Boss" is? I don't get it.

No more male chauvinist pig

10 November 2009

From August 2002 to October 2009, this website featured a Chicas of all time-list, a top-25 of (in)famous women
I wanted to draw. Today, I decided to remove that rundown, because it's sexist to rank ladies in a random order.
Women are women and they should be cherished, regardless of looks.
Guess that's called 'growing up' or 'coming of age'. No more male chauvinist pig, then.

Back in 2006, we had to make a magazine for a graphic design course. It had to be a egoistic, self-centered
magazine that beared our own name. Kind of like Oprah in the United States or Linda in The Netherlands.
It was all about using InDesign; the content wasn't important. However, I wanted to make a magazine I could
read afterwards. As such, I wrote enough articles and made enough photos to fill 8 pages. I can't seem to open
the original file, but I have scanned a printed copy. The quality is not fantastic, but it's still readable. I've covered
up the eyes of all my subjects, because not everyone likes to have an online life. The lay-out had to be an exact
copy of an existing magazine. My influence is obviously Vanity Fair (The Tom Ford's Hollywood issue). But they
don't have to sue, because my magazine was never commercially released. [click here for the PDF file]

At long last, the first two episodes of the Arne Keustermans series [with yours truly as one of the leads] can be
seen. I had written the original pitch way back in 2003 and plans were immediately made to turn the immaculate
script into a short film. Many, many rewrites and failed attempts later, the cameras started rolling in the summer
of 2008. By then, the short film idea had been dropped in favour of a webseries. Short, quick episodes are more
appealing to the YouTube generation. A February 2009 pick-up shot and the absence of a soundtrack further
delayed the production. Until last week.
Visit the official Pink Shades website and give us your honest opinion.

I had previously heard Tom Waits's Martha, but the song didn't seem to leave a lasting impression on me.
Charis De Craene, a dear friend of mine, and Grigore Ionita, my nephew, had pointed out the brilliance
of the track, but I remained oblivious. Two weeks ago, I took the time to actually sit down and justlisten to the tune, with the lyrics next to me. I immediately burst out in tears, because the text is so
heartbreaking : forty years have passed, but Tom Frost (the storyteller) still thinks of his love, Martha.
"All I had was you and all you had was me". Just the concept (or the message behind it all) : forty wasted
years. Incredible. Thank you, thank you, Mr. Waits, for this triumphiant piece of music.

Closer to home, the Belgian Arne Vanhaecke has made a very beautiful and touching song in his own right :
Luisje (literally : Little Louse), about a boy who wishes to be a louse inside a girl's hair. Vanhaecke is only 21
years of age, but a bright future awaits him. I hope to be a singer/songwriter one day, so I envy him already.

The Kids Are Allright

9 May 2009

The Kids, Belgium's finest punk band, performed on Antwerp On Stage [6 May 2009].
They truly are amazing : no-nonsense songs about injustice, prejudice and the Belgian
way of life. Their best known song is There Will Be No Next Time, but their best song
may well be Bloody Belgium. At just 1:17, it's over before you know it. The "endless
repeat" button comes in handy, then.
Read my interview with guitar player Luc Van De Poel. Dutch only, unfortunately.

Bill Nighy, Johnny Depp & Marion Cotillard

1 May 2009

I remember seeing 1998's Still Crazy for the first time and thinking : "Wow, that Bill Nighy is hilarious!".
Later on, I enjoyed Love Actually, State Of Play and Dead Man's Chest. He may not be the most versatile
actor in the world (his turn as a soused rock star in Love Actually is more or less a copy of his Ray Simms
in Still Crazy), but he's always reliable and funny (if the role doesn't demand seriousness).
Talking about "versatile" : Johnny Depp has a new movie coming out, Public Enemies. The hype machine
must not be working properly, because I had never ever heard anything about this movie up until seeing
an ad in this month's issue of British movie magazine Empire. Quite strange, considering the strong cast :
Depp, Christian Bale and Marion "Yes, There Is A God And He Is French" Cotillard.
Wow, a gangster drama with Johnny Depp. What a pitch! Depp is this generation's Marlon Brando :
bodacious, audacious and hyper talented. Let's hope Public Enemies will be our The Godfather.

Wow! Up until last month, none of my friends were married. Now, over the course of two weeks, I have
heard no less than three wedding announcements! Three! Is it really time to take the big step already?
Sheesh, I've truly become a (dirty) old man ...

Stop the press!

7 April 2009

For the first time since The Posts' inception, I have changed the top-3 of the Best Songs Ever-list.
Dire Straits' Money For Nothing, while still an awesome song, just can't compete with The Rolling Stones'
Sympathy For The Devil. Money has a terrific guitar solo, but Sympathy has better lyrics. As an aspiring
lyricist, I chose for the latter. The same goes for The Stray Cats' Stray Cat Strut. A brilliant tune, but no
match for Bruce Springsteen's Jungleland. I mean no disrepect to any of the mentioned artists, but some
have just created better songs than others.

Obituary

28 March 2009

Nand Buyl, one of Belgium's most respected and acclaimed thespians, has died last Tuesday at the
age of 86. I won't claim to be a fan of his work, because I have only seen 1% of his total output, but
I don't underestimate his influence and legacy. It's truly a loss for our cultural heritage.

It makes me wonder : how will I react to the death of Toots Thielemans? Springsteen? Dylan? Knopfler?
Spielberg? Burton? Depp? Jackson? MC Hammer? ... it's bound to happen some day. A worrying thought.
I guess there's a lesson to learn : appreciate every day as it comes. Or, to use a cliché, carpe diem.

It sure wasn't easy to acquire tickets for Michael Jackson's comeback shows in the O2 Arena in London, come summer.
First, you had to register your e-mail address, in order to get a presale code. Mind you : a chance to get a presale code.
Second, you had to log in at the right time last Wednesday (11 March 2009) to start the process. Third, you had to enter
your presale code. Fourth, you had to select the date and the number of tickets. Fifth, you had to wait "approximately 15
minutes" while the software was searching available places in the O2 Arena. You couldn't hit refresh once or someone else
got your place in line. Sixth, you had a mere 2 minutes to enter your name, address, phone number etc. Seventh, you had
exactly 5 and a half minutes to enter the necessary credit card info. Eight, you had 5 and a half minutes to enter a security
code provided by your own bank. Then, and only then, a message appeared saying "Congratulations! You have 4 tickets for
Michael Jackson!". What a complicated process, what a difficult procedure.
But we're going to the man in the mirror, the smooth criminal, the dangerous & bad man!

- For the first time in fourteen-odd years, I have seen Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands again. I can appreciate
it a lot more now, because I noticed the surprisingly complex and thought-provoking morale hidden under the sugarsweet
fairytale coating. Johnny Depp moved me to tears with his incredibly brilliant performance. After seeing his Willy Wonka
in Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, I seemed to remember the same mannerisms and tics portrayed in his Edwardpersona. How wrong I was : it's a completely different approach. Johnny Depp truly is one of the best actors alive, if not
ever. His range is stunning : compare Jack Sparrow to Edward Scissorhands to Ichabod Crane to just about anything he
has done. Unbelievable. 95% of the thespians out there should be ashamed they even call themselves "actors". Johnny
Depp should have won the Best Actor statuette, just as Tim Burton should have won as Best Director. It's a shame both
men have yet to receive any AMPAS attention.

- I have seen the Academy Award winning documentary The Times Of Harvey Milk the day before yesterday.
It's an incredible piece of work, featuring interviews with most of the key figures - Scott Smith is strangely
absent. I got a lump in my throat watching the crying witnesses and I was disgusted with Dan White's advocate,
who claimed it wasn't voluntary manslaughter at all. As a companion to the 2008 movie, The Times is essential
viewing. It was my first arthouse experience too. I've read about these so-called American "midnight screenings"
of (for example) The Goonies for years, but we don't have a tradition of re-releasing past classics. The Times of
Harvey Milk was shown in Cinema Klappei's new "Docu On Thursday" programme. Well worth a look if you live in Antwerp!

We hate it when our friends become succesful, part I/Milk II

9 March 2009

- Joris Jonckheer, one of my co-students who goes by the stage name of Skyve Reuter, released his first vinyl record last month.
Well, truth to be told, it's the second track of the A-side of Sid & Nancy's Kidzz. As such, it's not his first record, but it's super
thrilling anyway. Skyve Reuter is a DJ with the incredible talent to mix two tracks of a completely different genre. "So what?"
you may ask. Well, it's very difficult to find two songs and make them sound as one, without the human ear complaining.
Think 2 Many DJs. Joris, I wish you all the best!

- The gorgeous, funny & sweet Ellen Vermorgen - a dear friend of mine - made a valid point about my Milk-review
(see the previous 'Post'). She approved of me praising the actors, but she also pointed out the importance of Milk[both Harvey and the movie] for the gay community. Harvey Milk paved the way for his peers, but success came
at a terrible price. He didn't shun controversy, he organised marches, he was a very important key-figure in the
(eventual) acceptance of gay people in the United States of America. A great man. Rest in peace, sir.

Milk/Obituary

8 March 2009

- Milk [movie review]
- Paul Harvey, a legendary American radio jockey, passed away last month. Have I ever heard one of his radio shows? Nope.
Am I saddened by his passing? That would be preposterous. But I do know who he is, thanks to my favourite Simpsons episode
ever. In Homer's Barbershop Quartet, Grampa and Jasper listen to Harvey's radio show in the old folks home. They even switch
the channel during Homer's song. It's yet another example of how watching The Simpsons makes you smarter. Well, at least
when it comes to popular culture.

As I've stated before, I'm an amateur photographer. "Amateur" is a word that's easily misunderstood, but I do mean it in
a derogatory way. I make mediocre photos. That's fine. As such, I have a tremendous respect for real photographers.
People who understand the craft. World famous examples include Anton Corbijn and Annie Leibovitz. Herman Selleslaghs
and Patrick Despiegelaere are lesser known gods. One of the youngest, yet brightest talents to emerge from the Belgian
photography scene is Els Vanopstal. Barely 24, she has already built up a steady collection and ditto reputation.
Els's photos range from the surreal to the ethereal to the downright gorgeous. She has quite an unique eye for unique
pictures, with stunning lightning and subdued colours. It's a rare gift.

- Michael Crichton, acclaimed author of Congo and Rising Sun, passed away yesterday. His novel Jurassic Park,
of which I read a junior edit back in 1993, was adapted into the eponymous successful movie. The movie made
a big impact on me when it was released. Thank you, Mr. Crichton, for providing the original story.

- Whether you agree with John McCain or not, you can't deny the man knows how to admit defeat. His concession
speech was honest, fair and friendly towards his rival. He deserves a pat on the back for handling his loss so well.

One of my "Men I Look Up To For What They Have Done Without Saving The World In The Process" has died : Don LaFontaineor 'that trailer voice guy'. You all know him, for he has recorded oodles and heaps of voice overs, trailers and commercials.
Well, not everybody will know him, but you should. I first heard of the man when the great Pablo Francisco (a stand-up comedian
hailing from Arizona) mentioned him in his most beloved sketch. "The previews guy", as Mr. Francisco called him. Fransico even
claimed he met LaFontaine once : "Hi, nice to meet you, my name is Don". Seeing a trailer without Don LaFontaine's ominous voice
will certainly feel weird. Thanks for everything, sir.
I sometimes try to imitate Don LaFontaine, as seen here around the 02:19 mark.

Just wondering

25 August 2008

Why do toy companies make expensive action figures? Just for the adult nerds, right? What do adult nerds like?
Computers, crappy movies, junkfood and loud music. And women, especially the kind they will never ever seduce.
Thus I wonder why Hasbro only made plastic robots in their 2007 Transformers line-up. A Megan Fox figurine
would have sold like hot cakes, because she's quite the hot cake. That's not a sexist opinion, just a play on words.
A stupid decision on Hasbro's part, if you ask me.

I love to unearth previously undiscovered songs. My tips for the weekend : Lucky Town and Open All Nightby Bruce Springsteen. I still have a few good of his men, er, albums to buy (e.g. Nebraska; The Wild, The
Innocent and the E-Street Shuffle; Human Touch ...), so it's normal to bump into gems every now and then.
Mind you, I don't know the studio edit of Open All Night (which originally appeared on Nebraska). I'm referring
to the 8 minute long live version Springsteen recorded with the Sessions Band in Dublin. What a rendition :
a sniff of boogie woogie, a little bit of rock 'n roll, some echoes of a juke joint ... and, of course, the 100%
charisma of the singer. Buy it today! Buy, don't download.

b. "They're falling like flies again" is a Dutch figure of speech meaning "we're losing 'em fast". Bernie Mac
was great in Ocean's Eleven ["They might as well call it whitejack!"]. Isaac Hayes will go down in history
as the cool cat who sang "Shaft", but I did disagree with his devout Scientology belief. South Park makes fun
of everybody, so he should have approved of a Scientology namecheck. And according to my newspaper,
the legendary Paul Newman has decided to stop the treatment for his cancer. Will he come to pass as well?

- British talent Jools Holland's birthname is 'Julian'. I had no idea. How nice.
- On a totally unrelated note : isn't it 23 July 2008 yet? I want to see The Dark Knight!

The candy scam/Calley 8

29 June 2008

- Nestlé recently changed the lay-out of their candy bar Bros (not to be confused with
the English band from the 80's). OK. They also fiddled with the content. Instead of the
normal 30gr./1,20 oz. of chocolate, we only get 24gr./0,96 oz. nowadays. OK.
But the price remains the same! Not OK!

'Julian's Posts' has come full circle. I started this site, because I wanted to write about my
(musical/cintematographic/literary/etc.) heroes. Announced since 22 August 2002, I finally
got around to write the article about Steven Spielberg.

New drawings

21 June 2008

a. A conversation between a couple
b. Two drawings for the Swedish student magazine : 1 - 2
c. Dude

Music from 2007

15 June 2008

At long last, after a series of delays : the records I bought in 2007, in one handy rundown.

Random thoughts

14 June 2008

I. Bo Diddley, Harvey Korman, Sydney Pollack & Yves-Saint Laurent ... so far, "2008" has a lot of blood on its
fingers. Bo Diddley was an inspiration for just about everyone who made a record during the past 50 years.
Harvey Korman was the voice of the Dictabird in The Flintstones [I know he's done a lot more]. I have never
seen a Pollack movie, but I know his reputation. I've never worn anything made by Laurent, but a fashion legend he is.

III. In an interview with British music magazine Q, Will Smith stated that likes to watch the porn version of all of
his movies. These include imaginative titles like Men In Back and Inrearendence Day. Hmm, I wonder how they
will massacre his new flick Hancock.

IV. I'm back. Sweden has been informative, rewarding and fun.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

3 June 2008

Now that Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull has finally arrived, does it warrant viewing?
Is it worthy of the 19-year wait? Is it grand cinema or just a Crystal Dull? Read on to find out!

Sweden/Music/Obituary

23 May 2008

- The second and third video blog for our upcoming short film The Flower Shop.

- Sometimes, you have to admit you are wrong. I always dissed Eminem (and rap music in general)
for being 'too controversial', but I have to admit : the man has some incredible songs. As an amateur
lyricist, I'm awe-struck by the brilliance of some of his raps. The Way I Am, in particular, is a chilling
track. Stan, his most acclaimed, is classy too.

- Bert André, Dutch actor, succumbed to leukemia at age 66. The classically trained theater actor
achieved mass popularity in the Netherlands and Belgium by playing 'Neighour Neuteboom' in Flodder,
the Dutch television series about a crass family. I liked his performances; he had a certain elegance
and dignity. His colleagues described him as "a pleasure to work with". Rest in peace, Mr. André.

Swindy/Stars' behaviour

21 May 2008

Indiana Jones and the ... (Indy IV!) was released today at one minute past midnight across Belgium.
I'll have to wait another 6 days, because the movie we're making (no competition for Jones) is demanding
more attention. I'm quite lucky to be here in Sweden, because the Swedes don't dub their movies.
Expect a review as soon as possible, i.e. next week!

"According to British newspaper the Daily Mail, the Lost In Translation star made a string of demands to ensure
her appearance at the renowned festival - including a $8,000 a day make-up artist." [source : www.imdb.com].
I know you can't always trust journalists, but IF it is true ... for shame, Johansson. This is not the kind of
behaviour that keeps you at number one on the "Chicas"-list.

"A de facto strike has hit production of The Simpsons, with the key actors providing the principal characters' voices,
Dan Castellaneta (Homer), Julie Kavner (Marge), Nancy Cartwright (Bart), Yeardley Smith (Lisa), Hank Azaria (Moe)
and Harry Shearer (Mr. Burns), demanding raises from about $360,000 per episode to $500,000, Daily Variety
reported today (Tuesday)." [source : www.imdb.com]
Now, I'm one of the big Simpsons fans, but this is an outrage. Isn't $360,000 per episode enough?!
That surely covers the 'expenses' they might have recording the show. How greedy can you be?

At the movies

19 May 2008

People have different expectations and different desires. At least three female friends of mine are counting down
the days to see Sex And The City The Movie. I have never seen one episode of the series, but I can imagine a
fan's anxiety to see the flick. But, as I said, we all have different mindsets.

I am psyched to see Indiana Jones and The Temple of the Crystal Skull! Three days to go! Man, that movie
will rock off every pair of pants I have!
And then, in two months, The Dark Knight opens its wings. Have you seen the new trailer? Heath Ledger, damn,
you are good. Note the use of the present tense : this kind of performance transcends mortality.

Swedish update

14 May 2008

Read all about The Flower Shop, a short film by director Joeri Van Hooijdonck for which I am the camera man.
First video blog & teaser included!

Oh, what a sad day : Danny Federici, the organ, glockenspiel and accordion player from The E-Street
Band, has died. He passed away last Thursday, but I just read the news today. When I saw the band for the
first time in November 2007, Mr. Federici was absent (due to his skin cancer illness) and replaced by Charles
Giordano. Too bad I'll never be able to witness the Federici live skills. Thanks for your presence on 4th of July,
Asbury Park (Sandy). I'm not quite sure what you did on my favourite Springsteen track Jungleland, though.
You're the first E-Street bandmember to go ... take care!

- Charlton Heston : one of my favourite actors (a bold claim, for I have only seen Ben-Hur)
- Ollie Johnston : guess I won't be interviewing him after all - cf. my 7 March 2008 'Post'.
Hope I didn't jinx it. Take care, legendary gent! He was truly "legentary" ...

In my 31 October 2007 post, I sought new ways to avoid the cliché "all killer, no filler". Another one
of those tired, overused phrases is "blast from the past". Magazines use it to introduce a certain something
that was hip several years ago, which has since fallen out of fashion. I mostly use 'gear from yesteryear'.
I'd like to believe I came up with that expression myself, but I doubt it. The following are 100% mine.
If you spot them on a billboard or a website in the months to follow, you'll know where they got it from.

- stuff from the age of bluff
- props from your pops
- pieces from your grandnieces
- fads from ye olde lads
- junk from the Velo's trunk

The Germans/Hugo Claus

19 March 2008

- I was talking to some Germans while eating dinner. Imagine my surprise when I mentioned
The Sound Of Music and none of them had ever heard of that movie. How is that possible?
I thought it was a super classic; a slice of cinema history; a staple on TV on Christmas day.
Apparently not in Germany. How did that happen? Does anyone know?

- Hugo Claus died today. According to those who know, one of the greatest Belgian authors.
He's famous enough to have his own page on the English Wikipedia. He was suffering from
Alzheimer's disease and chose euthanasia to call it a day. Fair enough, I think. When one has
dedicated his life to writing and creatively using his brain, it must be unacceptable to suffer
from said illness. I fully respect his choice and I'm actually glad that he lived in a country that
offers the option to end your own life with dignity.

- As an aspiring journalist, I have names on a list. People I would love to interview, if there were no
boundaries, protocol or obstacles. Regular readers of 'The Posts' can hear me coming : Spielberg,
Springsteen, Jackson ... the usual suspects, right? Well, you'd be surprised. Don't get me wrong :
those guys are on that list, but the first name that pops into my head is Ollie Johnston.

The last living member of Walt Disney's legendary "Nine Old Men". Disney's Nine Old Men were the most
important animators during the early days of the studio. These men worked on Snow White and the Seven
Dwarfs (1937) and all the other classics. In fact, their Disney careers spanned 40 years, because their
last feature was The Rescuers in 1977.

Ollie Johnston is, at age 95, the only one remaining. Imagine, the stories that man can tell. He worked with
the Walt Disney. He co-created the stuff of legends. Yes, I would like to interview that man!

When you are a broad, er, I mean, abroad, your languages greatly improve! You're surrounded by foreign
students 24/7. I already know 6 words in Swedish, 5 words in Italian, 4 in English, 3 in German, 2 in French
and 1 in Dutch (chot-fê-dommêh!).

"You're so old skool"

26 January 2008

"T'es si old skool" the French Aurélie Carpentier told me. Here in Sweden, there are students from all around the world.
"Moi? Old skool?", I responded in my best Miss Piggy French, "pourquoi?". "When you talk about French musicians,
you mention Françoise Hardy, Christoph, Michel Delpeche, Jacques DuTronc et les autres, but those are hardly
contemporary French artists. True, you also mentioned Alizée, but I don't think she's any good." she responded.
"Thanks to Quinten Abadir I know Fonky Family as well!" I tried.

What a shock : Heath Ledger is dead! One of my favourite 'young' actors! His career is filled with
many highlights : 10 Things I Hate About You, Casanova, A Knight's Tale, Brokeback Mountain etc.
And his biggest role is yet to be released : The Joker in the new Batman movie! The trailer is SO
awesome, Heath is (well, was) so talented. Poor Michelle Williams ... they were divorced, but they
have a child together.

Take into account that this is only one week after Brad Renfro's passing. Renfro, 25, got his break
as a 10-year old kid in The Client, based on John Grisham's novel.

All I can say is ... "another one". River Phoenix. Kurt Cobain. Jimi Hendrix. Janis Joplin.

How sad. So many great performances by Heath Ledger.
All those performances will be saved in time, like tears in a glass.

The future is Blu

22 January 2008

Ok, guys, I've got the message : I bet on the wrong horse. HD DVD is losing, Blu-ray is winning.
Right? Wrong! Read my 27 August 2007 'Post' again. Well, I'll quote myself (how meta!) just to make
it easier for you : "Yes, I'm aware Blu-ray is going to win this current so-called format war"

Warner Bros was the proverbial nail in the coffin for Toshiba's HD DVD. Warner was the last so-called
'format neutral' publisher : they released their films on both high definition formats, that is both Blu-ray
and HD DVD. But Warner dropped a bomb the size of Arne Keustermans' talent on the HD DVD adopters
when they announced their exclusive Blu-ray support on the 2008 CES convention.

The Digital Bits, the bible for everything DVD, announced the first weekly sales of HD DVD after the Warner
surprise. Blu-ray now firmly holds 85% of the high defintion market in its hands, HD DVD gets a measly 15%
(well, of course, because there's no third format - yet? - to claim the rest of the pie).

Fine. Ok. Sony won. For once. Remember BetaMax or MiniDisc? Well, I do and I both love 'em to (digital) bits!

But here's my question : why could Warner deliver the final blow in this format war? Yeah, Warner's
a great studio (The Goonies! Richie Rich! A.I.! Ben-Hur!), but I surely - and clearly - underestimated their
overwhelming importance. What makes them more special than, say, Paramount or Universal!?

Rea

21 January 2008

[Get Rea'dy]
The one word you see in every shop : REA. Do the Swedes love Chris Rea so much? Do they dig Stephen Rea?
Nope, it's Swedish for "sales". Yep, even in Sweden, there are bargains à volonté in January (and supposedly June too).

Split Second

21 January 2008

Split Second is a 1992 film starring the ever great Rutger Hauer. According to Wikipedia's plot summary,
"In the year 2008, global warming has taken effect" ... Well, yeah, it has! How did they know?!

The Italian Way

21 January 2008

I was talking about movies with one of the Italian students in Sweden, when the excellent "The Godfather Part II"
came into the discussion. Robert DeNiro did an outstanding job delivering almost all of his lines in Italian,
as those of you who have seen the movie will remember. But what did the Italians do? They dubbed DeNiro's lines,
along with all the other dialogue.

Now don't get me wrong : I know the Italians (and the Germans and the French and the ...) like to synchronize their
movies and I don't want to sound like a cultural snob. But this is just mean : DeNiro did his best to speak Italian
and still, the Italians weren't satisfied. Shame on you, guys.

More photos

20 January 2008

Swedish Tree : getting dark at 3pm!
Local Supermarket : open till 10pm, even on a Sunday. Hardworking Swedes!
Two Tintin DVDs : only 39SEK/€4.10/$6.04 for the live-action movies from the 60's unavailablein Tintin's native Belgium! For shame!
Back To The Future II : only 59SEK/€6.21/$9.15 for a part of my favourite movie trilogy! In English,
with Swedish - and even Dutch! - subtitles.

Speaking of high definition and DVDs as a whole, I saw some interesting things. You have heard of the stereotype,
"Sweden the super expensive country"? Think again : a new DVD costs 140SEK, which is roughly €14.7 or $21.71
(sorry, Americans). A new DVD in Belgium costs between €16/$24 and €22/$33. Second hand DVDs are widely
available : one for 50SEK/€5.26/$7.75, two for 90SEK/€9.47/$13.95 - not too shabby!

I passed a gas station/convenience store, which was still open at 11.15pm. Inside, they had a fairly large selection
of CDs, DVDs and magazines, in addition to food and beverages. Simpsons Filmet, Bruce Springsteen's Magicand many books on CD (apparently a common thing in Sweden, still in its infancy in Belgium).

A gas station in Belgium rarely has anything more than candy, but the Swedish offering even had two Blu-raymovies : Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Ghost Rider. No HD DVDs, though. And the price? 249SEK/
€26.21/$38.61 for Harry Potter, 299SEK/€31.47/$46.37 for Ghost Rider- way too expensive for this alleged crapfest.
Furthermore, the Swedish daily Aftonbladet offered a selection of 8 movies to choose from : buy the paper, pay
10SEK/€1.05/$1.55 - friendly for every wallet! "Yeah, but what movies? Rancid B-movies at best?" Well, no : Nurse Betty,
Romance and Cigarettes, Out Of Time etc., all in their original English presentation, with "Svenska" subtitles.

First photo of Sweden

19 January 2008

That's a whole lotta apples ...

Sweden

17 January 2008

I arrived, safe and sound, in Sundsvall, Sweden. "Sweden? The land of chocolate?" Nope, you're thinking "Belgium"
(or Germany, Simpsons fans). "Sweden? The land of ABBA, Roxette, The Hellacopters, SAAB, H&M, Volvo and
Astrid Lindgren?" Correct, but clichés are to be avoided. I'll be down here for the next 5-odd months, to study
journalism and learn the language. Exciting? Sensational? Supreme? All that ... and more!

- Look at this commercial for V.Smile.
The handheld edition is more expensive than the "console
for TV" edition. That's a first! Well, actually, it isn't. The TurboExpress (the portable TurboGrafx or
PC Engine from NEC) was also steeper than its big daddy. But still, the other way around is common.

Live In Dublin/Brolin

20 November 2007

- Live In Dublin, a 2CD plus DVD set chronicling a Bruce Springsteen does Pete Seeger concert,
was released in June of 2007. Ergo, a mere 5 months ago. The recommended asking price in the
Belgian retail trade was €25/$35. Yesterday, I only paid €6.90/$9.60 in German chain Saturn,
which I critized earlier for their 'too cheap for their own good' policy. Yeah, ok, call me a sell out,
but I could not resist. €6.90!? Must be because I didn't mention the war.

- Josh Brolin, one of my cinematic heroes because he's one of The Goonies, is finally getting the
recognition he deserves. He apparently steals the show in Ridley Scott's American Gangster and
he's getting Oscar buzz for the Coen's No Country For Old Men. Johnny Betts, one of my favourite
cinematic reviewers on the net, has been supporting him for over 10 years. Betts' namechecking
Brolin turned out to be well worth the effort. Well done, Johnny, you have a finger on the pulse!

- review of Magic, the new Bruce Springsteen and The E-Street Band album.

- A music journalist once asked Bob Geldof, the force behind "Live Aid" and "Live8", why certain artists
(e.g. The Rolling Stones, Radiohead) didn't appear on either (one) of these super gigs. Geldof found an
excuse for the absence of most of these artists and the journalist wrote them down in an article. My hero
Bruce Springsteen was missing in action too, however. "What's up with that?" I asked that music journalist
a week ago. "Some artists may have a 'nice and caring image', but that's just for show", he said - which is
what Geldof told him.
Springsteen, are you selfish and cold hearted? You did support Amnesty International & Vote For Change ...
but why did you refuse to perform at Live Aid/8?

Rhetorical questions

8 November 2007

- Is Kate Nash a cute 20 year old?
- Does Annelies Rutten have a sweet smile?

- Yesterday, we ate some pancakes with 'ze family'; it's an annual tradition. I was talking with one of my
mom's nephews and he told me he had bought a Nintendo DS, just for Brain Training. Why? Because his
children's teacher had strongly advised parents to train their brain daily. Now that's certainly food for
thought. Imagine, 15-odd years ago, our teacher saying : "Go out and buy a Game Boy!" to our parents.
You would've laughed, right? I know it's a bit unfair to compare the Game Boy to the Nintendo DS, but still ...

- "Actor and singer Robert Goulet, who shot to fame as Lancelot in the original Broadway production of
Camelot, died Tuesday morning [31 October] at a hospital in Los Angeles while awaiting a lung transplant;
he was 73." [source : www.imdb.com]
Ah, mister Goulet. He smacked Millhouse in the face in the classic Simpsons episode "$pringfield".
He was called "Mr. Poopie Pants" by Frank Drebin in The Naked Gun 21/2. Thanks for all the laughs.

American Idiot

31 October 2007

I'd like to stress again what a brilliant album Green Day's American Idiot is. It's a non-stop treat; a feast for
the ears; all killer, no filler. Read that last sentence again : all cliches in music journalism, right? I reckon I
can do better!

American Idiot is :

- all hit, no shit
- all tops, no flops
- all brill, no kill
- all hot, no rot
- all crackers, no slackers

Send yours to the usual address!

Ernie Hudson

28 October 2007

I'm a big James Rolfe fan. Rolfe rose to fame in mid-2006 with his Angry Video Game Nerd short films,
in which he critized bad video games. His YouTube account quickly became the place to be/see/be seen,
as every new movie easily gathered 500,000+ viewers. Early 2007, he moved to ScrewAttack, which is
the home of new Nerd episodes ever since.

One of the best and thoroughly thought-out examples of his good rants on bad video games, is Ghostbustersfor the NES (Nintendo Entertainment System). Not only is the game a pain to play, one of the four Ghostbusters
characters is actually missing. And, yes, guess who : the black one. Racists!

Two weeks ago, I had the chance to interview Ernie Hudson, the actor who played the non-Caucasian Ghostbuster, on a convention of freaks and geeks in Ghent, Belgium. I told him about his character missing in action.
Kris Vande Sande, a promising selfmade director, caught the interview on tape and placed the edited effort
on YouTube. Thanks to some buzz, the video became a minor hit! As of today, 8,167 have seen it and the video
has only been up for 8 days.Click here for the YouTube interview!

And the biggest thrill? James Rolfe himself saw it, liked it and hyped it on his site!

Told you so

25 October 2007

Scroll down to the 19 July 2007 'Post'. At that point in time, the last Samantha Streets project mentioned on
The Internet Movie Database was a one-off performance in an episode of CSI: Miami. And what is listed on her
resume right now? The Girl From The Naked Eye. Yes, a feature length movie with miss Streets in a starring role.
I'd love to believe that Hollywood listened to my suggestion. Samantha, go girl!

Don't overdo it

24 October 2007

Tomorrow, a new super budget shop in opening in Antwerp : Saturn or "multimedia à la MediaMarket". Very nice,
but I object against their 'too cheap' price policy. For example, the brand new CD from Belgian band Fixkes :
€11.50 or a stellar €7 less than the average asking price. How will small, independent shops stay alive!?

It was the worst of times

23 October 2007

2007 is also shaping up to be the ultimate disaster year! Three beloved ones have already passed away :
the brother of one of my best friends at age 27, the aforementioned G.M. at age 22 and last week
my Granny at age 70. "Hard Times", to quote The Scabs.

Live Baby Live

4 October 2007

I was never a big concert attendee. Every year, I'd see one or two shows tops. But 2007 is shaping up to be
the ultimate gig year! The Who [June], The Police [October], Meat Loaf, Herman Van Veen &
Chuck Berry[November] and Bruce Springsteen with The E-Street Band [December]. Yeah!

Hal Blaine/Gear from yesteryear

28 September 2007

- Hero Hal Blaine.
- Do you remember the ViewMaster? I found mine in a stack of old toys, together with three sets of reels.
Dutch chain Kruidvat began selling refurbished ViewMasters and new VM-discs last month! So, for the first
time in 12 years (I bought Casper in 1995), I purchased a VM-package (i.e. The Little Mermaid)! I love nostalgia ...

When will people understand Google?

27 September 2007

- "blu ray uk pay belgium ?" is not the way to find what you're looking for, my anonymous friend.
However, you found my site through that description.
- Another guy or gal typed "h-man comic" and, rightly, found my site. Could it be a fan? Or a coincidence?